Here Comes the Sun!
by Gray-Eyed Charlatan
Summary: Ella Johnson has always known she was different. Weird things started happening in her eighth grade year. What will happen to this not-quite-nerdy-but-not-quite-popular, average girl when she's thrown into a not average world where the Olympians do exist?
1. Chapter 1

"Ella, wake up sweetie!" were the pointless words that filtered up into my room.

You see, I was already awake, as I had been since 6:30 am, and was attempting to read, sitting on my bed. I say "attempting" for a good reason. You see, I'm dyslexic. Yeah, I know. Poor me, right? You don't know the half of it. Unfortunately, I also have ADHD. I know, I know. I'm supposed to be bad at school and whatnot. But surprisingly, I'm not that bad. I'm a good student who usually lies low, getting slightly-better-than-average grades. Some know me as a nerd. One of those people is me.

I adjusted my glasses, sighed, and rose from my bed. I pretended to open and close my closet, then banged around my room to simulate the noise of me getting dressed. I sat down at my vanity table/desk thingy and started brushing my waist-length, not-quite-curly-but-not-quite-straight brown hair. I thought again of how completely unfair it was that I had to have braces and glasses at the same time. At a very important time, too. I was in the eighth grade, just about to go on to high school.

I walked down the stairs, faking a yawn, and sat down at the kitchen table.

"Morning, Mom," I said brightly.

"Morning, Ella. Play practice starts in an hour, so you have plenty of time."

It was a Saturday, and I was happy to be awake. I'd always been that way. I absolutely loved play practice and musical theater and anything to do with the arts. But I especially liked writing poems. Most people hated them, but I thought they were genius.

"So, Mom. Can you tell me about Dad?" I pleaded. I was always interested in my father, the man who I had never met. So I asked my mother about him every morning, hoping she'd remember something different that I had never known before.

"Ella, we've talked about this hundreds of times. He was smart and intelligent, he loved being outside, and he had your blue-gray eyes."

"I bet he didn't need glasses," I mumbled under my breath.

"I told you that you can get contacts in September!" I was about to comment on my braces, so she said, "And you're getting your braces off in July. You don't have that long to wait."

"It's May," I said dully. "The only thing I can look forward to now are exams, and I don't want to look forward to those." Just the thought of sitting still that long made me anxious.

"We've gone through this again and again. Next semester, you won't have braces or glasses anymore. You're lucky! My parents wouldn't let me get contacts until-"

"You were 17. I know, Mom. It's just hard to wait." I lowered my chin onto my hands.

She brushed a strand of my hair from my face and said, "Don't worry, honey. Those two and a half months will fly by. In the meantime, do you know all your lines?"

That perked me up instantly. I was Jasmine in my school play, Aladdin.

"Uh-huh! Except I'm kind of nervous..." It was totally unlike me. I never got stage fright, ever.

"About what?" Sometimes my mom was like my mom and sometimes she was like a best friend. How weird.

"Nothing." I said it too quickly, avoiding my mom's face. I interested myself in a Cheerio floating in my cereal bowl.

"Oh. I know what you're worried about." She smiled a little too understandingly. "You're worried about the k-"

"Lovely weather we're having!" I interrupted loudly, pointing at the cloudless sky outside the window. "See the sun? How bright it is?"

"Ella, you're avoiding the topic."

I decided to play dumb. "What topic? The weather? Did I mention that it's beautiful outside?"

"Ella Marie Johnson, you're anxious about your 'big scene' with Aladdin, aren't you?"

I blushed furiously and stuffed my mouth with Cheerios so that I could be spared from talking.

"I knew it!"

"I am not worried." I said, sending milk dribbling down my chin. I hastily wiped it off with a napkin.

"It's okay. Everyone gets nervous if they have to kiss someone onstage."

"_Mother_! If I wanted to talk to you about my problems, don't you think I'd ask you about them?!"

I stormed out of the house and into my tree. Well, it wasn't exactly my tree. It was technically my mom's, but she never went up there. So I considered it mine- There I go, babbling again. Great. Just great.

So I was sitting on a particularly high branch, looking at the sky, when my mom came outside.

"Ella?" she called. "Honey, where are you?"

"I'm up here," I grumbled, jumping down from the branch and landing on my feet.

"Didn't I ask you not to do that? You scare me to death!"

I stared at the sky again. Sometimes I found it fascinating. Except when it gave my pitifully pale skin a sunburn. Then I got mad and stayed inside for days.

"Get in the car. It's almost time for practice, but it wouldn't kill you to be a little early."

I rolled my eyes and got in the passenger seat.

"It wouldn't hurt for you to tell me what's going on in your life," my mom noted as she put the key in the ignition. I absentmindly ran through my lines in my head while she continued to talk. "If you're having trouble, you can always tell me. I went through it, and soon it'll be over with for you. And don't be nervous about the kiss. You're a good actress, and it's only acting, okay?" Involuntarily my mind switched to my big scene. There was the boy playing Aladdin, Will, and there I was. We were finishing up "A Whole New World." As we hit the ending note, he leaned in towards me and-

I shook my head to clear the awful image of what would come next. I didn't even usually talk to Will, so why on earth did I have to kiss him _in front of everyone_?

"And you know, I did acting when I was your age. I've done plenty of scenes like that, and I'm still alive to talk about it."

I had almost forgotten that Mom was talking. I distracted myself from the terrifying scene I had to perform at practice that morning by thinking about clouds and their shapes.

Mom pulled into the parking lot for my school's auditorium and parked the car so that I could get out. I unbuckled my seat belt, bid a quick adieu to my mother, sighed, and walked into the big building. I had been told that I had a slight arrogant air to the way I walked, but I didn't care. I walked confidently, at least according to me.

Script in one hand and a water bottle in the other, I sat down next to my best friend, Beth. Beth was lights in the show. She was obviously a nerd, judging by both her looks and behavior. She had plain black glasses that were unlike my pink-ish beige-ish ones, horribly crooked teeth, and chin length brown hair. But here's the catch- she was proud of being a nerd, and showed it as often as possible.

I had to tap her shoulder to get her to stop paying attention to her book. "Beth!"

She narrowed her eyes and said irritably, "What?" I knew she was only crabby because of the whole me-not-letting-her-read-instead-of-listening-to-me-talk thing.

So I rolled my eyes and said, "So, do you have all of your cues down?"

Being lights, she had to memorize when to turn on the lights, and which colors she had to use. It was almost as hard as being onstage, she had told me whenever I complained about having to learn my lines.

She nodded and immersed herself in her novel again.

I poked her shoulder three more times. She did not respond, but kept reading. Defeated, I walked to my "frenemies," most of the other girls in our grade. You see, I am incredibly bubbly and people-loving for a nerd. I enjoy meeting new people, and they enjoy meeting me. I had tons of friends, and everyone in the school basically knew who I was. Not that I was popular or anything. Lip gloss and Hollister are not for me. I preferred books and T-shirts.

"Hey guys," I said casually, leaning against a wall.

"Sup, Ella?" asked Will. The girls around him giggled. He had been acting incredibly stupid since I got the role of Jasmine and he Aladdin. I chose to ignore him.

"Shouldn't you get your costume on?" asked my understudy, Allie, with a brief look of panic.

"Oh, yeah! How can I be so stupid?" I rushed backstage into the girls' dressing room to shimmy into my revealing Jasmine costume. I wasn't exactly worried about wearing it in front of a crowd. It wasn't like I had anything to hide. I had a pretty good body, but please let me make myself clear- I am not, nor will I ever be, good at sports. Except softball. Everything else I ended up hurting myself in.

I ran back into the group of girls donning my mint-green ensemble when the director, Mr. Gilbert, demanded attention. He was this creepy little man with a mane of tangled, dirt-colored hair and glasses an inch thick. I didn't know why, but he gave me the creeps.

"Places, people!" he wheezed, clapping his hands. "For 'A Whole New World!'"

Will was already in his stupid-looking purple vest and balloon pants, so there were no immediate delays.

"Cue music! Cue spotlight!"

Will had barely opened his mouth to sing when the scratching started.


	2. Chapter 2

"Stop!" I yelled. "Stop the music!" Will looked at me quizzically, so I added, "What's that scratching noise?"

Mr. Gilbert wheezed, "Just because you're Jasmine doesn't mean that you're the director. Cue music!"

"But Mr. Gilbert-"

"Ignore the scratching!"

I sighed as I tried to listen to the music above the ever-growing-in-loudness scratching.

"_I can show show you the world,"_ sang Will.

_"Shining, shimmering, splendid._

_Tell me, princess, now when did you last_

_let your heart decide?_

_I can open your eyes,_

_Take you wonder by wonder._

_Over, sideways, and under_

_On a magic carpet ride!_

_A whole new world!_

_A new fantastic point of view!_

_No one to tell us no, _

_or where to go,_

_or say we're only dreaming!"_

Throughout the song, I had been focusing on anything but Will, the fact that his breath smelled like garlic, and the scratching. But by the time my cue came on to sing, I couldn't even hear the music.

"Ella! Sing!" commanded Mr. Gilbert.

But I couldn't. I couldn't hear the music, or the beat. I could be singing it at the exact wrong time.

"I can't, Mr. Gilbert! I can't hear the music!" I shouted over the noise.

"What?"

"I can't hear the music!"

"What?"

"I CAN'T HEAR THE MUSIC!"

The scratching stopped at the moment I shouted. Everyone started cracking up, and I blushed. Then the scratching picked right up where it had left off.

Will paled. "No! They can't be coming for us! I thought I was safe here!"

"You're never safe, son of Hermes!" cackled Mr. Gilbert. "Now they'll come and get you."

"Hold on a second!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. "Son of what?"

"Hermes," said Will. "You know, like the Greek god?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Yeah, I'm half Greek god. And so are you. We need to get out of here!"

The scratching got worse. Will looked nervously at the ceiling, like it might collapse at any second.

I laughed out loud. "Okay, I admit you had me for a second. Late April fool's day joke, eh?"

"Ella. I am completely serious. We need to get to Camp Half-Blood."

"As opposed to what? Pureblood?" I kept up to date on my Harry Potter reading, having been compared to Hermione more times than necessary.

"Listen to me!" I looked in his bright, lollipop-green eyes, sensing the fear and anxiety. Against my better judgment, I believed what he was saying. Mostly. "We need to get out of here before they come!"

I would bet everything I had that my eyes mirrored the same fear as in Will's eyes. "Okay. I guess we should go. How?"

He pulled a big bronze sword out of no where and grabbed my hand. Then we bolted for the exit.

"What do we do now, your Highness?" I asked sarcastically once we were out of the building. I would never, ever lose a chance to be sarcastic.

"Ah, well, I haven't thought about this part." Will looked uncomfortable.

"WHAT?!" I shrieked. "And what about all of those poor people in there? What'll happen to them?!"

"I'll explain later, I promise. Once I find a way to get to Camp. Hey, how far away are we from New York City?"

I was always good at math and geography, so it took me about half a second to respond. "About an eight hour drive."

"Crap!" he said, pacing. "Crap, crap, crap!"

"Cool it, will you?"

"This is no time for jokes, Ella." For some unknown reason, I got a shiver down my spine when he said my name. "We need to get to New York City, and fast."

"We could take an airplane," I suggested weakly.

"No, Zeus would shoot us out of the sky." I thought he was joking, so I laughed. He looked at me like I was crazy. "Wait! I know a way! Quick, do you know how to make a rainbow?" I looked at the sky. It was bright and sunny. Perfect. I took off my glasses and put them directly in the sun's glare. Mini rainbows reflected throughout the area we were standing in. Will took a small gold coin out of his pocket. What was that supposed to be, a dollar coin? He dropped it into one of the mini rainbows and said, "O goddess, accept my offering! Camp Half-Blood, Lord Dionysus!"

What happened next was utterly beyond me. Instead of clattering noisily to the ground, the coin vanished. Just as it touched the rainbow. And a big picture of a fat guy in a Hawaiian T-shirt sipping Diet Coke on a porch of a farmhouse appeared. I could feel my mouth hanging open.

"Lord Dionysus!" said Will hastily. "I found her, the half-blood you sent me after?" He gestured to me. "Yeah, so she just basically found out a little of what she really is, and now the monsters are after us. Can you, by any chance, send one of the pegasi to pick us up and get us out of here?" I realized that all of that was probably coded. But why was he calling the fat man Dionysus? Wasn't Dionysus the Greek god of wine?

The fat guy sighed theatrically. "Sure, why not? I'll just get up and walk all the way to the stables and tell a pegasus to fly over and get you two worthless heroes. Are you out of your mind?"

A half-horse, half-middle aged man appeared next to "Dionysus."

"Whoa, a centaur!" I said. This was way out of line. No summer camp would have code names, and that cool of special effects. The picture of the guy in the air was something like you only saw in sci-fi movies. Why did they keep talking about "Half-Bloods?"

The centaur-allusion said in a scholarly tone, "I will go and fetch one for them, Lord Dionysus."

"Whatever," said the fat guy. He turned to Will and me. "Do you want anything else? Or can you leave and stop wasting my time?"

Will waved through the picture, dissolving it like colored mist. I put my glasses back on.

"What's with all the code names and special effects?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"I told you, I'll explain later. The pegasus should be here in about three and a half minutes, so we just have to survive until then."

Mr. Gilbert charge out of the auditorium, but he wasn't the short, grizzled director anymore. It looked like he was growing into a big green snake...

"He's Python!" I shrieked to Will.

I had always had an unhealthy obsession with Greek mythology, and had even taught myself how to speak and write in Greek. So, I knew who Python was.

"He was slain by Apollo, right?" Will yelled.

"Uh-huh!" I yelled back.

Will drew another bronze-colored sword from nowhere and threw it to me.

"Catch, Ella! Try to kill it!"

"But I've never even held a-" I tried to shout. But a certain sword came whizzing by me, so I followed my instincts- I caught it. A sudden sense of power overwhelmed me. But even that power couldn't take away my incredible fear.

Mr. Gilbert/Python came running towards me. I jumped out of the way just in time. (I'd always been good at dodging.) He slithered up to me, looking more like the Basilisk from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets than I could have ever imagined. Except this Python was real.

"Swing, already!" Will commanded.

"I'm trying!" I shot back. "I don't even know how to use this thing!"

I lifted my arm to show my frustration, but I forgot that was my sword arm. I accidentally severed the head of Python.

"How'd you do that?" Will said, sounding astonished.

"Always the tone of surprise," I grumbled. But behind that whining, I was shocked too. I was still trying to wrap my mind around it. I unintentionally killed Python. Me. Ella. Killed. Python. Wow.

"Can I have my sword back?" Will asked.

"Sure," I said in a daze, throwing it to him like a javelin. He barely caught it.

A cream colored, brown speckled horse with wings flew down from the sky and landed a few feet from us.

"I must be hallucinating," I said in a frightened tone. "First the director turning into a giant snake, and now this. Maybe they were right. Maybe I do belong in a mental institute."

Will groaned like he was used to people saying that they were crazy and said, "Just get on the Pegasus."

"How?" I had only ridden a horse once, and that had been one of those little kid pony rides. How different could riding a flying horse be?

Will swung onto the horse and said, "Just sit behind me, and hang on. Like people do on motorcycles."

I clambered up on the Pegasus behind Will and sat there with my arms crossed. It was bad enough that I would have to kiss him in front of an audience, but this was way out of line.

"You're going to fall off if you don't hold on," he smirked. I moaned, put on my best martyred face, and put my arms around his torso. I immediately did not like it.

The Pegasus took off. I saw the world going by beneath us about as quickly as on an airplane, except for the fact that we were a lot lower.

"Are you going to explain now?" I asked, putting my chin on his shoulder. If I had to sit like that, I might as well make myself comfortable.

Will replied, "Sure. The short story is that the Greek gods and goddesses exist. And you're the daughter of one of them. We're going to a camp for people like us, demigods. We learn how to survive the monsters there. That Python thing we just faced was an example. You'll learn more at camp."

"Ooo-kay," I said. "You really expect me to believe that? I take mostly Honors classes, I'll have you know. If you think I'm going to be fooled by that, then you're wrong."

"Actually, I know you're in Honors classes. I was sent to your school to keep an eye on you and bring you to camp, since the satyrs are all busy."

That news took me by surprise. "You. Were sent to watch me. Why?"

"To make sure you were still alive, for one thing. And we need more demigods to fight for our cause. Again, you'll learn more at camp."

"When are we going to get to this mysterious camp, anyway?" I was getting annoyed at Will. First he grabs the part of Aladdin, obviously because he knew I would get the part of Jasmine. Then he tries to tell me that the Greeks were right, and that their mythology does exist. Then somehow Mr. Gilbert turns into a giant snake and I accidentally kill it. Him. Whatever. Now he thinks he can order me around while we're flying on a horse. Oh, puh-leez.

"Right about now, actually," he said. the horse began to land amidst a huge Greek-style strawberry farm with tons of huge buildings. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."


	3. Chapter 3

My mouth dropped in shock.

"But.. How are we here already? You said that it was in New York City, and that's an eight hour drive! It only took half an hour!" I protested.

Will shrugged, "Travel is something completely different for monsters."

I put my hand to my head while I thought about everything, and I instantly regretted it. I fell off the flying horse.

"Ella! Are you okay?" Will shouted from somewhere above me. I didn't care where. The only thing I cared about then was how I fell into the unsuspecting arms of someone that was probably just a little older than me. I looked up at his big, blond head to thank him for saving my life and all that jazz, but he spoke first.

"Hello," he said awkwardly. He put me down gently and then rubbed his arms, which must've hurt from the impact.

Will coasted down and looked furious. He sized up my handsome rescuer and asked me in an overly-nice way, "Ella, are you okay?"

I turned to the person who had caught me and said, "Thanks, so much. I would probably be dead if you didn't catch me. I'm Ella."

He nodded and looked into my eyes. "Anytime. I'm Jake, son of Aphrodite."

Will started laughing hysterically. "Son of Aphrodite! Come on, let's get away from this wannabe model."

He took my hand and pulled me in the opposite direction. I couldn't resist turning around and looking at Jake. Stupid hormones ruining my life. Jake smiled, showing gleaming white teeth.

"He's a son of Aphrodite, El. You don't want someone like him."

"I never said I did want someone like him!" I yelled, yanking my hand from his grasp. "Never call me El! And what are you, my older brother?! M.Y.O.B!"

I stomped off, not exactly where I was going. I leaned against a tree and sat down.

"Um, hi," said a girl with light brown hair who had been tending some plants near me. "I'm Hazel, daughter of Demeter. Are you new here?"

I nodded and said, "Yeah. Someone," I refused to say IT'S name, "told me that Greek myths exist, but I think it- er- he, was just trying to play a practical joke on me. And I'm Ella."

She smiled understandingly. "I know it's a lot to take in at first, but I'm afraid he was right. Do you need someone to really explain it all to you?"

"Yes, please. I don't understand any of this, really."

"I'm not very busy at the moment, so I'll tell you. Unless you want to see the orientation film at the Big House...?"

"No thanks. I don't really feel like being around anyone at the moment. Can you please tell me?"

She explained in her gentle voice all about the Western Civilization, and how it was tied to the gods and goddesses. Strangely enough, I believed her. Hazel didn't seem like the type to lie.

"Wow. That's... a lot to take in. But thanks so much for telling me."

"So, do you want me to introduce you to my friends?"

"Sure, why not?"

I stood up and followed her to a huge Greek arena, where two kids my age were sparring.

A platinum-blond-haired girl lunged and ended with her sword against the other's neck.

"I win," she laughed.

The other person, who I realized was a boy, brushed off his clothes. "Whatever, Nikki. Rematch tomorrow."

He also had blond hair, but it was more honey-colored. He also had a wicked tan and, on further inspection, gray eyes that were a little more menacing than mine. Other than that, he was kind of cute in the best friend way, or even how you would picture an adorable little brother at that age.

"Hey guys," Hazel called, waving.

"Hey," said the boy, looking at me.

"Sup," said the girl. Then she followed the boy's line of sight and stared too.

"This is Ella. She's a new camper," Hazel explained. The two nodded. She pointed to the girl. "That's Nikki, daughter of Zeus."

"And damn proud of it!" Nikki said, putting her shoulder-length hair in a ponytail.

Hazel rolled her eyes and nodded at the boy. "That's Patrick, son of Athena." He was still staring at me, and so didn't say anything.

I cleared my throat and said, "Nice to meet you both."

They just nodded.

"So..." I said, trying to start a conversation.

"Who brought you here?" Nikki asked abruptly.

"Uh. Um. Er. Yeah. Will, I think. Son of Hermes."

"He's a total idiot," said Patrick quickly. Hazel looked questioningly at him. "I think I have to go now, and talk to Annabeth about Capture the Flag." He turned tail and fled.

"Ignore him," said Nikki. She was several inches taller than me. Even Hazel was taller than me. I felt like a small child. Why did everyone have to be taller than me?

"I think we should take her to the Big House, to introduce her to Mr. D," said Hazel. Nikki nodded, and they both walked with me to the big farm house that I saw in the floating picture.

They walked up the porch, and there was the fat guy sitting in a lawn chair, flagged by the centaur.

I realized something, and then did the only natural thing. "Sumos theos," I said involuntarily in Greek. It meant, "You are a god."

"Yes, yes. It is nice to have someone address me in my native language, though. You must be the new camper that Hermes boy was sent to bring?" I nodded. "Well, you will be living in the Hermes cabin until you are claimed. If you are not claimed, you will remain in the Hermes cabin. Any questions?"

"No, sir." I had no idea which god it was, but I felt I should be polite at least.

He nodded, seeming impressed.

The horse-guy said, "We welcome you to camp, Ella Johnson. I am Chiron."

"The Chiron?" I gasped. "Trainer of ancient Greek heroes? You're a legend! In the celebrity sense, of course."

He laughed quietly. "Yes, I am The Chiron. Now I just train young heroes to fight off the monsters. You do know what I am talking about, correct?"

Nikki nodded enthusiastically as Hazel said, "I told her all about everything. I don't think she even needs the orientation film!"

"Nice work, Hazel and Nikki. Can you please show Ella to her temporary home?"

The girls led me down the porch steps and into a big U of cabins. Except they weren't regular log cabins or anything. Each one seemed special, except a very run-down looking one with a caduceus above the door. As I swiveled my head around to look, one cabin in particular caught my eye. It looked like it was made of solid gold, and sort of hurt my eyes when I tried to look at it. Nikki followed my line of sight and winced, but I thought it was absolutely marvelous.

"That's the Apollo cabin," she explained. "This one," she pointed to the beat up one, "is where you're living for now, unless you're claimed. Careful, it's kinda crowded in there."

She knocked on the door, which opened. Then she shoved me in.

I heard Hazel chastising her friend outside where I was. "Nik, why'd you do that? Can you at least try to be friends with anyone?"

"I just nudged her in, Haze. No biggie."

"Yes, biggie! She almost fell! Good thing she caught herself! And plus, she looks like she could use a few friends."

I focused on where I was standing. There were only eight or so bunk beds, but there were at least twelve sleeping bags. A few people were in there, chatting while they perched on a bed or on the floor. One of them, I realized with a jolt, was Will, AKA It.

"Ella!" he said in a singsong tone. "Come here, sit down!"

"What if I don't want to?" I challenged, putting my hands on my hips.

He ignored me. "I want to introduce you to my friend, Tom." He gestured to the boy he was sitting next to. The stranger was physically huge- like 6 feet tall, even though he looked hardly older than me- and was ripped with muscles. He had brutally short black hair, which was so unlike It's shaggy black mop. Tom also was sort of ruggedly charming.

"Hello," he said, sounding interested.

"Can you just tell me where I can sleep tonight?" I asked It irritably.

"Right here, if you want," It said, wagging his eyebrows and pointing to the area next to him.

"You complete pig!" I shouted, turning everyone in the room's eyes to me. I stepped up to him and slapped his face. Tom looked amused.

"Is he bothering you?" two people asked in unison. Two 18-year-olds stood up.

"I'm Travis," said one.

"I'm Connor," said the other.

"We're the counselors of this cabin!" they said together.

Connor strode up to me. "It looks like you know our little bro, Will, already."

"We find him to be a complete waste of space," continued Travis.

"If he ever gives you trouble, just tell us and we'll make trouble for him! Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." And with that, they walked out.

"That could get annoying," I said to no one in particular, forgetting whose company I was in. The idiot barbarian boys howled with laughter. I stormed out, muttering insults.

"We have Archery in five minutes!" It called after me. I tried in vain to ignore him.

I kept wandering for a little while until I reached an Archery range. Chiron galloped over to me and said happily, "You're just in time for your first Archery practice! Do you know anything about the sport?"

"I know that it's in the Olympics," I volunteered weakly.

"Yes, it is in the Olympics. Do you know anything else?"

"It uses a bow and arrow."

"Yes. Maybe I should just get on with teaching you. Now, try to hold this correctly." He handed me a bow. I involuntarily held it in a specific way. "Very good! You already know how to hold it! Now, I am going to hand you an arrow. Try to load your bow." I put the arrow in. "Stellar job! Fire at that target. It is okay if you miss it. No one gets it," I fired, "on their first... try." The arrow was in the middle of the target.

"Bulls eye!" I said, proud of myself. Chiron gasped and looked above my head. One of the students flying above us fell off their pegasus. With a twinge of sympathy as I thought of how they should land in the arms of someone as I had done, I looked above my head.


	4. Chapter 4

There, above my head, was a shimmering musical instrument. A lyre, I thought automatically. How, I didn't know. I had never even seen a lyre.

"What does it mean?" I gasped to Chiron as it faded.

"You will not have to live in the Hermes cabin after all," he said, turning away.

"Where will I live?"

"The Apollo cabin, of course. You, Ella, are a daughter of Apollo." He walked away. "Oh yes, your mother sent a bag of your possessions. I will send someone to drop them off in your new cabin."

I stood there, rooted to the spot. I was a daughter of Apollo, my favorite Greek god! I would get to stay in the gold cabin!

"Ella?" asked a not-so-familiar voice from somewhere behind me. I automatically turned to the sound of my name. There was Tom.

"Go away," I grumbled. "And Will had better not be with you."

"No, it's just me. Were you claimed a few seconds ago?" His head was cocked to the side and he looked confused.

"Yes. I'm a daughter of Apollo. Now leave me alone." I started to walk into the forest.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I froze midstep. "Why?"

"Those woods are stocked with monsters."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, like I believe that. Really, what do you want?"

"I wanted to know if you need sword lessons. And since I'm a son of Ares, I thought I would be the best one to teach..." His voice faltered as he saw the intense, burning look in my eyes. "On second thought, scratch that. I think I hear Will calling!" He jogged in the opposite direction.

I walked into the U of cabins, slamming directly into someone. Why did that stuff always happen to me?

"Ow," I moaned, holding my arm that had bumped into that person's bronze sword.

"Are you okay?"

I looked up into the face of a boy slightly younger than me.

"I am fine," I said, trying to find a way to escape. Weren't there any girls at this camp?

"I'm Xemari, son of Hades. You might know my brother Nico?"

"No, I do not know your brother Nico. I'm new here. So will you please get out of my way so I can get into my cabin?"

"Whatever. Oh, I know who you are. You're the noob, Ella."

"What did you just call me?"

"A noob."

"What is a noob?" I demanded, tapping my foot.

"Someone new to something, duh. You're Hazel's new friend, right?"

"Yes..."

"Yeah, well I'm looking for Nikki. Have you seen her anywhere?"

"No I haven't. Now get out of my way."

I pushed him out of my preferred walking path, fuming silently. What was with everyone? Didn't anyone mind their own business anymore? I opened the door of the Apollo cabin and walked in.

Like the outside, the walls were gold. But they weren't so blinding. The floor was a deep gorgeous purple. There were two bookshelves- one labeled "Apollo's Poems" and the other labeled "Misc. Poetry." There were pictures of musicians, artists, doctors, and actors on the wall labeled "Wall of Fame." Against the other wall were seven bunkbeds. There was a big harp on a pedastal in the center of the cabin, and on the one remaining wall was an awesome stage.

I was frozen in place. This room was heaven! I curiously walked to the shelf of my... father's... poetry and picked up a Harry Potter sized book called, "Haikus XVI." I opened to a random page and found:

_Frogs leap in the pond._

_One is eaten by a snake._

_Goodbye, little frog!_

This is genius! I thought. I put the book back and picked up a smaller volume called, "Poems CVIII" I opened to another random page. This is what I found:

_Apollo._

_My name is Apollo._

_My name is Apollo. I am so cool.  
_

_Poems._

_Pretty, pretty poems._

_Pretty, pretty poems I like to write._

_Famous._

_I am very famous._

_I am very famous. I am a god._

_Apollo. Poems. Famous. Awesome._

_I am awesome._

_I am awesome..._

_Because I am._

Apollo, my... father... was so incredible! That poem was absolute brilliance!

"Wow!" I said brightly.

A redhead girl who seemed about my age was curled up on the top bunk of a bunk bed, scribbling furiously in a notebook. She lifted her head and said, "Yeah. I know, right?" She hopped off the bed and landed a few feet in front of me.

"I'm Anastasia, but you can can me Ana," She said, tucking a curl behind her ear. I noticed that she had my same blue-gray eyes and basic facial structure. "You must be my sister."

"I'm Ella. And you must by _my_ sister!"

That line sounded uber-cheesy, but we both started giggling.

"So, are you liking camp so far?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

I nodded as I said, "Yeah. Sorta. Except every single guy is being waaay too friendly." I had only just met her, but I felt like I could trust her. We were half-sisters, after all.

"Really? Lucky."

"Why am I lucky?"

"They probably like you, Ella!"

My face went pink. "What? What do you? Huh?"

"Ella, you are so naive. Want me to show you around the cabin?"

She led me to the Wall of Fame.

"This is our Wall of Fame. Pictures of influential children of Apollo are put up here. That," she pointed to a big picture of a blond guy, "is Apollo. Our father. And patron of this cabin!"

I stared open-mouthed at my dad's picture. He was half-smiling like I always did and had an intelligent look in his blue-gray eyes. Other than that, he looked about 19 years old, and that he should be a male model or something.

"Whoa. That's our dad?" I had always pictured my father to be like most fathers- not looking 5 years older than me and such.

Ana laughed. "I know it's a shock at first, but yeah."

Someone knocked on the cabin door. Ana went to open it.

"Oh daughter of Apoooooolloooooooooo!" sang a way-too-familiar voice. "I have a present for yoooooooooooooou!"

"Close that door," I commanded frantically.

But it was too late. Will walked in the cabin.

"Nice place you got here," he said, looking around.

As his eyes met mine, I thought, How do I look?, but then mentally kicked myself. Why should I care how I looked? It was just an idiotic, barbaric son of Hermes. A little voice inside my head said, An idiotic, barbaric, _attractive_ son of Hermes. I mentally kicked myself again. When I spoke, I said coldly, "Why are you here?"

He smiled and my stomach did a backflip. Stupid! I chastised myself. He said, "Well, I was just in the armory, and a package just randomly appeared that said 'To Ella Johnson.' So, I decided, being the nice person that I am, to bring it to you. Here you are, El."

"Don't. Call. Me. El." I said through my teeth, although I secretly liked it. He handed me a big package wrapped in gold wrapping paper.

"Open it!" prompted Ana. Until then, I had almost forgotten she was there.

I tore the wrapping paper and smiled brightly.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a bow and quiver of arrows, all seemingly made of gold. Will's eyes widened. Ana smiled.

"I love it!" I crowed, looking at the little attached note, which said:

_Ella,_

_Though I have only met you once, I feel very proud of you. Only two other people have hit the bullseye on the first try! Can you guess who?_

Apollo and Artemis, I thought.

_They were my baby sister and me!_

I smiled in spite of myself.

_I look forward to meeting you again! And tell your mother that I say hi. Here is a bow and some arrows for you. Hephaestus made them for me a long time ago, but I don't usually use them anymore.  
_

_Your wonderful father,_

_Apollo_

"Wow!" I said, holding my bow and strapping the quiver on my back. "This is so cool!"

Will said, "Well, seeing as I'm not needed, later Ana. Later El."

"That could get annoying," laughed Ana.

"DON'T CALL ME EL!" I yelled after him. I realized just how immature he was, and how much I hated myself for liking him.

"Ignore him," smiled Ana, shaking her head.

"That's the plan." I slouched against a wall.

Ana looked at my face thoughtfully and decided, "You like him."

I jumped up. "I most certainly do NOT!"

"That's one of the signs! Oh, even though I've just met you, I feel so happy for you! When did you realize it?"

I determined it was best to be honest. So I grumbled, "About ten seconds ago."

"Really? From what I saw, it seemed like a lot more."

"What do you mean?" I was actually curious.

"Well, you kept glancing at him and locking eyes with him. Then you would look away quickly. Both of you."

"We were having a conversation. You look at people when you're talking to them."

"Apparently you don't, because you're avoiding looking at my face."

"I'm just a little shocked, okay? Leave me alone! Please!"

I walked out of the cabin, but not before I caught the look on my sister's face. She was _amused_. Like she thought it was funny or something.

I decided to go to the archery range to try out my new bow when I saw Patrick, son of Athena.

"Hi," I greeted with a tiny wave.

"Hey," he said, releasing his arrow, which missed the target by a long shot.

"Do you need help with that?" I offered.

"Yeah."

I approached Patrick, realizing the slight arrogant swagger in my walk. How long had that been there? And why? So I stood with perfect posture and continued walking.

I took out my bow and held it in the natural way.

"Try to hold it like this," I said. His arms tried to grip his bow like I gripped mine, but they wouldn't cooperate.

"I'm hopeless."

"No, your hands are just in the wrong places. Here." I moved his arms into their right positions. He fired, and it hit the bullseye.

"You, Ella, are a miracle worker."

He and I shared a quick smile. But then I realized what I was doing and looked away.

"So, uh, I guess I'll see you around," I said slowly as I backed away.

"I'll see you around," he said just as awkwardly.

I turned tail and ran away before anything weird could happen.

I assumed that I should try my hand at swordfighting, just to see if I was good at it. I probably wasn't, but it wouldn't hurt to try! And guess who I saw at the arena? Tom, son of Ares!

"Hi."

His eyes found me. "Hi, Ella. You need help picking out a weapon?" He was smirking.

"No I do not need help picking out a weapon," I retorted. He rolled his eyes and walked over anyway.

He pointed at a thin, long sword and said, "I'd try that one if I were you. It's good for beginners."

I felt like swinging it at him, but I picked it up anyway and held it in a way that I was sure was wrong- I was holding it straight out in front of me with both hands. I instantly hated it. I hated how it made my arms heavy. I hated how it was so... so... unbalanced. I hated the damage it could inflict. Sure, an arrow could kill someone, but it's not like you walk up to them and it them with it! Arrows seemed a lot less personal to me. And with arrows you could do a sneak attack. But nooooo, not with a sword.

Tom raised his eyebrows at my stance. "Wow. You actually expect to beat me standing like that?"

"Of course I do," I said just to spite him. He sighed and approached me, looking like some sort of knight or something.

"Ready?" he laughed condescendingly.

"Do your worst," I challenged, instantly regretting it. He came flying at me with no warning at all!

Barely two seconds in, his sword was against my throat.

"I win!"

"You cheated," I grumbled.

"You're just mad because you lost."

I had to admit that it was a blow to my "inflated ego," as my best friend Beth had said so kindly. I should have called her by now! I should have-

"El? Tom? What're you guys... doing?" Will looked incredibly confused.

"Will!" I said happily. Then I fixed my voice to contempt. "I mean, don't call me El!"

Tom said to Will, "Ella and I were just having a little party. We would have invited you, but I forgot."

Will ignored him. "So, El, how are you doing?"

"I was fine until you got here."

Tom "Oooooo"ed stupidly.

"Um... can I borrow a pen?" Will asked expectantly. I must have looked crestfallen. I was expecting him to ask something much more important!

My false anger faded because my curiosity took over. "Why do you need a pen?"

"Well, I need to write something."

I raised a questioning eyebrow, but couldn't help cracking a smile. I guessed that the overall effect was ruined. He smiled, showing his adorable boyish dimples.

"Please, El?"

I fished in my pockets for a pen, and found one. I tossed it to him. "Here, Will. Just remember to give it back, okay?"

"El, you're my new best friend."

"Whatever." I automatically flipped my long hair over my shoulder. I saw Will's eyes following it, before setting on my eyes.

"Thanks for letting me use your pen, best friend!"

I sighed happily and shook my head, smiling, as he ran away like a puppy. I turned to Tom, who was looking menacingly in the direction of Will.

"Who does he think he is?" I heard Tom muttering. "Best friend? As if."

"Did you say something?"

Tom's eyes widened. "Uh, no. You're doing really well in swordfighting!"

I laughed in a way that showed I wasn't amused. "Yeah, right." I slumped against a wall of the arena until I was sitting on the ground. Tom sat next to me, and I involuntarily leaned the other way.

"So," I said to break the awkward silence. "Why do you think Will needs a pen?"

"He probably needs to sign a form to launch his modeling career," grumbled Tom.

"I thought you guys were friends."

Tom said darkly, "I did too."

I stood up. "Thanks for helping me, but I think I'm a lost case when it comes to swords. Archery I can handle, but not swordfighting."

His dark composure dropped and he laughed merrily. "I might need a tutor in archery!"

"If you do, I'll be willing to help."

Tom was nice, if not a little egotistical. But I still preferred Will.

"I'm going to hunt down my pen!" I announced with a goodbye wave. He waved back, and I smiled.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey Will?" I called, looking through the Arts and Crafts station. There he was, scribbling on a piece of paper with my pen.

He noticed me and his face lit up. "Oh, hey El!"

I decided to let the whole El thing drop. "So, um, are you almost done with my pen?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I might need it for a little longer... if that's okay?"

"That's fine, but can you give it to me later? It's my only pen, after all."

"Sure. I'll drop it off at your cabin when I'm done, best friend."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, best friend." I might as well play along!

I turned to walk away, but Will called behind me, "Uh, July 4th is coming up... and there's a huge fireworks display... People usually... go... together... So, um... do you... want to go... with me?"

I flipped back to facing him, smiling. "I can't wait." It was June 30, which made the fireworks 4 days away.

"It's a date!" He looked like he might start doing a touchdown dance.

"It's a date," I agreed. Then I decided to switch topics. "About Aladdin. Too bad we can't do the... er... play. You were a great Aladdin, you know."

"No, you were a better Jasmine!"

Our eyes locked, and I knew we were both thinking about our "big scene" that we had to miss.

"So, I'll see you around," I said with an awkward smile.

"See you."

I waved behind me, and then chastised myself for acting like an idiot. I was beginning to miss doing the musical. I headed back to my cabin, when I ran into Xemari again.

"Excuse me," I said, trying to get past him again.

"Excuse you." He sounded offended for whatever reason. "Have you seen-"

"No, I haven't seen Nikki, so stop asking! Gods, if you're soooo busy looking for her, why don't you ask Hazel? Hmm?" I waited for a reply, but got none. So I plowed on. "And personally I think that Nikki isn't all that interested. She seems to like Patrick. You know, the son of Athena?" This time, I didn't wait for an answer. "And besides, she's a complete hothead." Xemari looked at me, and I saw an intense anger in his brown eyes that made me take a step back. "Now, I want to go to my cabin. If you'll excuse me."

I sidestepped him and walked purposefully into my cabin, where I slammed the door shut.

Ana was writing poetry again. She looked at me and asked, "So, you and Will are going to the fireworks together, huh?"

I stopped in my tracks. "How did you know? It happened, like, three minutes ago."

"Apollo is also the god of prophecy, Ella." She tapped her head and gave me a thumbs up. "Maybe you'll start to see a little of the future. But we can't all be as awesome as I am, now can we?" She flashed her blinding white teeth. I remembered vaguely from somewhere that Apollo had a big ego. Well, I knew where Ana got it from!

Talking about egos made me think of Beth, my friend from regular school. What had happened to her? She would be shocked to know that Will and I were going on a... date. Will. And I. Bet she wouldn't see that coming! I had to call her!

"Ana, do you have a cell phone?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, but it's like sending up a flare to the monsters on your location."

"They already know we're here though, right? And they can't get through the magical border!"

"Fine, but I'll need it back."

She rummaged through a duffel bag near her and brought out a lime green flip phone. She handed it to me. I took it.

I dialed Beth's number and crossed my fingers, hoping she was there.

"_Hello, this is Beth."_ said her voice.

"Beth! I have so much to-"

"_I'm not in right now, so please leave a message after the beep. BEEP!"_

So, she wasn't there. I hung up, not wanting to leave a message. Beth always had her cell on. Always. Why didn't she answer?

I gave Ana her phone back. "Thanks, but she's not there." I pouted. There was a knock at the door. I glanced frantically across the room at a mirror and still saw my reflection- a mildly pretty, nerdy-looking girl with pale skin, glasses, curly brown hair, and braces. Too late to change anything! Ana had started for the door, but I hissed, "Let me get it!" I hastily smoothed down my hair and opened the door, smiling. It was not Will. It was Tom. "Go away. I'm waiting for someone."

"So am I. ANA!"

Ana rushed to the door. "Oh hey, Tom! Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Bye Ella, I'm going to race Tom in a canoe! Wish me luck," she smiled maliciously at Tom, "even though I won't need it!"

She ran outside, laughing. Tom followed her, also laughing. I shook my head at the sight of them. So I didn't notice when a certain someone came to the open door.

"Hey, El, just wanted to give you your pen back."

I pocketed the pen. "Thanks for returning it. At school, you never did!"

He leaned in very close to me and whispered, "That was then. This is now."

"We've both changed," I admitted. His hand reached up to my face, and I couldn't help looking into his bright green eyes.

"_A whole new world_," he sang softly.

"_That's where we'll be._

_A thrilling chase-"_

_"A wondrous place." _I decided to cut in.

_"For you and me,"_ we sang together. High meets low, in perfect harmony. OH MY GODS! I thought as his face leaned closer and closer and-

Suddenly our lips met. Whoa, I thought. I guess this kissing thing really is all it's cracked up to be! I knew for a fact that he had kissed someone before. I had even been on/off friends with some of his exes! But it was all very new to me. And I liked it. Except the part before was really cheesy. Really really cheesy. He needed lessons. Not on the kissing part, but on the execution part. Execution seemed like the wrong word. The right word would probably be...

How unhelpful my ADHD was, making my mind wander at an important milestone in my life!

Too quickly as it seemed, he pulled away, smirking slightly. I cleared my throat and felt my lips puckering into yet another pout involuntarily. He laughed.

"Wow. That was... amazing, for lack of a better word," he said.

Lack of a better word. Execution. Not the right word a few seconds ago. "Yeah. Whoa." I must have sounded like a real genius.

"That was because we didn't get our scene," he said. His head drifted toward mine again, and I felt the brush of his lips against mine yet another time. "And that was because I like you."

"I like you too," I acknowledged, sounding stupid yet again. Probably.

"And this," he kissed me a _third time_ for a longer time than the other two, "is because I want to kiss you again. But I can't, otherwise I'd never be able to leave. See you." He pecked my cheek and had disappeared before I could register what had just happened. Maybe I had dreamt the whole thing. But if I had, I didn't exactly want to wake up!

I sighed like all the girls in bad sitcoms and sat on a bed, looking up at the ceiling. I basically forgot what I was doing before... they... happened, and then remembered. Beth!

Since Ana was gone to race Tom, I'd have to ask someone else if I could borrow their phone. Not wanting to exit the wonderful mood that I was in, I almost decided against it. But my conscience won over and I stepped out of the cabin. What I saw shocked me.

**DUN DUN DUN! What does Ella see that surprises her? You all won't find out unless you do one easy thing- REVIEW PLEASE!**


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